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Bees, Baking and Love

This weekend I don't have time to make soup as I'm heading away this evening and won't be home until Monday night (St Valentine's Day). I thought I would just put in a few references to bees I have come across recently. Last week I mentioned "The Whole Day Through" by Patrick Gale. I had also read "The Cat Sanctuary" which was first published in 1990. Here's the quote from "The Cat Sanctuary":

"Er ... What is it?" she asked, not wanting to appear rude.
"Chamomile's the main ingredient. It tastes a bit like pond water but it works straight off. You might like a little of this in it." He slid her a honeypot shaped like a beehive. [From Chapter 15]

One of the positive outcomes of jetlag has been the opportunity to catch up on my reading. I had a pile of books by the bed, one of which was Johan Theorin's "Echoes from the Dead" (first published in Swedish in 2007, I think). I discovered his novels last year - the spouse and I read "The Darkest Room". The quotes from "Echoes from the Dead" are below:


"I'm injured," says Nils, surprised at how calm he sounds, when in fact an entire squadron of bombers is screaming into action like furious bees inside his head. [From Chapter 3]
Julia sat down in the living room, in the corner opposite Gerlof's armchair. Her elderflower tea with honey was on the table. It was lukewarm, almost cold, but she drank it anyway. [From Chapter 9]

 Baking Bonanza 

Below are some YouTube links.


Finally, in preparation for not being here on St Valentine's Day, I baked the spouse and offspring gingerbread hearts. The younger offspring gave me heart-shaped biscuit cutters for Christmas and I hadn't used them. I thought it would be a loving gesture to use them on this occasion!  The recipe for the gingerbread is from a book the spouse and I have had for nearly thirty years, Mary Norwak's "500 Recipes: Bread, Cakes and Biscuits."
Minnie's Gingerbread Hearts
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